When the topic is technology and business innovation in central Indiana, one of the key private sector leaders is David Becker. Interviewed for the March-April BizVoice® story on e-commerce (he is CEO and chairman of the board of First Internet Bank), Becker also shared a few thoughts on the effort to provide a diversified economy.
“We’re headed in the right direction in high-tech in central Indiana,” he declares. “We’ve got really good cooperation between the private sector, education and the government.”
Becker’s successes span a quarter of a century. He was the founder of re:Member Data Services, a provider of electronic data services to credit unions, in 1981. He also started VIFI, which delivered Internet services to financial institutions and corporations, in 1995. In addition to First Internet Bank, he is the founder and current CEO of three other Indianapolis-based technology companies.
It was the acquisition of a Memphis-based company in 1989, however, that brought a lesson in how far Indiana had to go at that time. When he wanted to move the company to Indianapolis a few years later, there was no money available. He was told that if it was a manufacturing operation, it wouldn’t be a problem to find the funds.
“We’ve turned that around the last five or six years. Manufacturing has been through its cycles and downturns,” Becker points out. “It has always come out of it, but this time it’s just not going to happen. Those jobs are probably gone forever.
“But now we’ve got the sales tax exemption (for research and development equipment), the R&D tax credit. We’re waking up,” he says, “but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Both re:Member and VIFI, like other successful technology companies the area has seen, were sold to larger organizations earlier this decade. That shouldn’t be seen as a sign of weakness, according to Becker.
“That’s what you do. You ride it to a point, then you move it or consolidate it, and you start over again. That’s OK.”
One of the challenges (not just in Indiana but everywhere) for those trying to help grow high-tech companies is keeping up with the rapid changes.
“The technology industry changes daily, almost minute-by-minute,” Becker states. “Regulatory agencies just don’t move as fast. The regulatory hurdles are so strong that often you can’t take full advantage of the technology.”
